


His Greatest Experiment

by ashford2ashford, Beraias



Series: Aster's Timeline Adventures [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aster is also an Experiment, F/M, M/M, Other, Sans and Papyrus were Experiments, baby bones, kingdings, sansby - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:06:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7563208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashford2ashford/pseuds/ashford2ashford, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beraias/pseuds/Beraias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written by myself and Ashfordtoashford, this first tale in a series of 4, telling Aster's tale as she journeys through different timelines. This starts as a Slice of life, with a plot that develops later on</p>
<p>Rated Mature for reasons you'll see later.</p>
<p>Undertale is owned by Toby Fox\<br/>Wing Ding Aster (as she appears here) is Copyright to myself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Experiment Aster comes home

     A cold chill swept through the darkened hallways of the lab that night. Not one light flickered, no doorway held a warm glow behind it, and - to all who first glanced upon it - the entire facility seemed deserted. Machines slept soundly and solidly within the absence of power; locked cabinets guarded their contents like solid stone-hearted sentinels. Even the chambers and vials that bubbled and burbled with various fluids seemed silent, as though a void has snatched all sound from their steadily frothing contents, colours dull in the night air.

 

     As what qualified as night time descended on the entire Underground ('night time' being when people decided that the clocks told a time that it meant sense to sleep at and all the crystals dotted around the ceilings seemed to almost dull as though they represented the sun going down), only one creature was awake and alive in the blackness of the laboratory that wrapped itself around the CORE like a giant metallic snake.

 

     WD Gaster sighed softly and tried to focus on his current task at hand. A monotonous and dull affair - as far as he was concerned - albeit a much-needed one. One long finger-boned hand scratched at the base of his skull idly as he leafed through several files and documents, occasionally selecting one as his one good eye lit up from within with an ever searching, ever curious white glow. Within the space where his throat should have been, he heaved yet another great sigh, his voice vibrating low and almost dangerous, " **No. No that will not do either.** "

 

     The document he had been reading was screwed up and tossed aside in an almost blase manner, his good eye socket closing in frustration, a dark purple glow emanating from within his other permanently half-lid eye. Behind him, the trashcan was nearly spilling its paper contents onto the ground like some file-based avalanche, already full of rejected applications. Some rolled up balls of paper had apparently missed the can on the way over to it and gathered around its base. Gaster growled, his language garbled and distorted to an untrained ear, his hands automatically gesturing over his chest as though emoting along with his words, " **If Dr Merrick is going to insist on me checking through these worthless cretins, then he should at least give me some semi-competent scientists that I can at least use for something!** "

 

     Another piece of paper was snatched from the pile, his good eye glaring down at it as though it had personally offended him with its mere existence...and then it softened somewhat. The white orb dancing inside the black void of his empty socket seemed to almost beam with a sick delight, Gaster's entire posture and frame relaxing somewhat as he leaned back in his chair and brought the innocent-looking sheet of paper closer to the dull yellow glow of the desk lamp. " **Yes...** "

 

     One hand signed and trembled excitedly. The distorted words turned into an almost dangerous purr, " **Yes...yes!** "

 

     Gaster's permanent skeletal grin seemed to stretch further until the scientist was practically beaming from ear to ear (if he had ears, that is). Hurriedly, as though almost afraid that the paper would magically vanish at any given moment, Gaster pulled a black pen from his desk tidy and scrawled his name in the pitch dark ink at the very bottom of the page. Through the one open eye, he admired his handiwork, and read over the paper's contents once more - just to be sure.

 

Oh yes: he was unbelievably happy.

 

His experiment was finally coming home.


	2. New Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aster starts her new job at the lab, where she works with her just slightly younger brother, Sans.

Dr Merrick glanced uneasily at his watch as the new trainees started to file into the laboratory. The CORE seemed to hum and roar as though heralding their arrival, the entirely of Hotlands bubbling and hissing with excitement, the bright oozing lava bathing all of this particular part of the Underground in a constantly shimmering and shifting red, orange, and yellow light. In total, of the hundred applicants that he had placed on Dr Gaster's desk the morning before, only three scientists had made the cut. One was a dog-like monster that boasted a very good score in the practical applications of science, highly recommended to the laboratory from the area of the Capitol that he had trained in, and another seemed to be a very nervous and constantly trembling yellow lizard creature that occasionally had to pause to wipe sweat from her brow with a bright pink heart-patterned handkerchief. The head scientist had to double check her record on the off chance that Gaster had pulled another one of his all-nighters and had accidentally thrown her in the mix as a sick method of keeping Merrick on his toes. As it happened, she was top of her field in all exams in the Capitol: scoring perfect marks across the board and having one of the best academic records that Merrick had ever had the pleasure of glancing over.

 

Finally, the last applicant was one of a skeletal nature. Merrick supposed that Gaster was one of those proud creatures who simply desired the presence of his own species occasionally, as though proving their superiority in the magical arts - that was currently his running theory as to why Gaster had hired Dr Sans, another skeleton monster, in the first place. This new one seemed...promising? That was the word that Gaster had used as he had unceremoniously thrust the three documents into Merrick's claws that morning. She was certainly quieter and less obnoxious than Sans had been.

 

Merrick knew better than to doubt Gaster's decisions when it came to skeleton monsters.

 

His cat-like eyes scanned the documents once more and, once satisfied, he coughed and addressed the three new trainees, "I am Dr Merrick, the first point of call in this laboratory. As of today, you all have the great privilege of working for none other than the famous Royal Scientist Dr Wing Din Gaster. I must congratulate you given the difficulties of becoming a successful applicant. Dr Gaster himself decides on who comes and goes inside this laboratory. You have all more or less been hand picked by the monster himself."

 

One clawed hand gestured towards the laboratory doors, "Behind us is the main laboratory. We call it the True Lab, considering that it is the one that connects directly to the CORE's inner workings, and this is where your career as a scientist should hopefully flourish under Gaster's capable lead."

 

With a sweep of his coat, Merrick turned and gestured for the three to follow, pointing ahead of him with one sharp digit, "Come now. I shall show you around. Let us tour these wonderful hallways."

 

As Merrick strode confidently through the doorway, the small yellow lizard - Alphys - took off her classes to clean them on her brand new work shirt, and beamed with giddiness at Aster - the skeleton monster. Alphys was almost vibrating with eagerness. "Can you believe it?? We made it! We're working for HIM! Dr Gaster!!! Oh my goodness! I wonder if he's as crazy as people say? What if he's strict and professional?? Oh my goodness!! Can you believe it, Aster??? I can't believe we did it!!" 

That day, Aster had chuckled as she had tucked in a young Papyrus. Dr. Sans and her had been friends in university, and he had asked her to babysit a lot time ago, because his work was distracting him and he couldn't take the young Paps with him. She had agreed and it became a rather routine thing for her. Sans would drop off young Papyrus, and go to his work, though she was sure he had suspicions about her and why she herself didn't like talking about Gaster. As much as she liked to deny it, she and the Royal Scientist shared many traits, as father and daughter should. Both were tall Skeletons, both got absorbed into their work far too much, both had a love of coffee and tea, and both of their magic, was Purple.

 

When she had graduated from the only University in the Underground, Aster had not thought she would be receiving a job offer from Gaster's lab.. Part of her thought to decline it, the memories of Gaster flooding her mind as she recalled her days in the lab. But she had accepted, and stood there with the other two recruits, a dog monster and a yellow Dinosaur, she remembered was named Alphys.

 

As the reptilian monster asked her about Gaster, she schooled her face to the calm neutrality she tended to get whenever people asked certain questions about her.

 

“Enjoy it, Alphys. You worked just as hard as I did to make it here." She said softly, touching the Dinosaur on the shoulder.  "He's fairly strict, in the fact that he wants results, quickly, and does not like excuses or failure. But you shouldn't let it get to you."

 

She followed Dr. Merrick. Aster knew a lot about the lab, and didn't seem so surprised walking through it's halls.  Alphys might have heard a comment idly about her looking at a crack or dent in the wall.

 

"Will we be running into the  _ "Illustrious" _ scientist any time soon Dr. Merrick?" She asked after a few moments, though she hoped for an excuse of Gaster being too busy.

 

"Hn." Dr Merrick made a noise in the back of his throat and his tail twitched almost as though he too was thinking the same thing. There was the faint trace of a frown worrying at his brow, but it soon vanished. No need to terrify or put off the trainees after all. Gaster was always too picky. They needed all of the help they could get at this rate. Usually, they had better luck if a skeleton monster was in the pile of applicants. For some reason, Gaster was always at his most generous (that description being used loosely) when there was the prospect of adding another skeleton to the mix. Perhaps it was their control of complicated magic? Who knew?

 

The almost feline monster glanced over his shoulder at the tall skeletal creature behind him. One of Gaster's own kin, he suspected. Still, he made no remark on this and caught himself before he could vocalise his thoughts, "Dr Gaster is usually too busy to wander down to this level of the laboratory. Many of our team have worked full time on the CORE since it was first established and have done so without even catching a glimpse of him. He is very...involved in his studies."

 

Understatement.

 

Aster nodded. That was good. She wasn't sure if she could even put on a front in front of others.. Gaster typically read her too damn well for her to even try lying to him, she'd be damned if she didn't try though. As they walked through more of the laboratory, Aster mostly was quiet, thoughtful sort.. She couldn't wait to bury herself in work,

 

Alphys almost looked downtrodden at this, but Merrick knew the old man well enough to know that two of these three trainees would most certainly not be disappointed. Another glance was spared in Aster's direction before Merrick slid a key card into one of the doorways and allowed the steel panels to hiss open. "For now, let us get down to business. This is the main control office. We can monitor the entirety of the laboratory from within here, and we have various readings from all parts of the --"

 

He was cut off as he glanced inside the dull lit room, the glows of the monitors dancing across his face, expression souring somewhat. When he spoke, agitation came in the form of a half-yowl, "Dr Sans! What have I told you about bringing confectioneries into the monitor room??? I told you this on your first day here!!!"

 

A low chuckle sounded. With the entering of the room, a short, round faced-skeleton could be seen lounging in one of the tall leather work room chairs, wearing a very baggy, very over-sized labcoat, complete with matching pink slippers and very dirty trousers. His feet were up on the edge of the main monitors. Ketchup bottles, a half empty jar of relish, and two apparently empty mayonnaise bottles lay scattered across the work surface of the monitor room. A few discarded piles of paperwork had been dismissively shoved to one side.

 

Aster would of course know Sans when she saw him.

 

He was already grinning up at Dr Merrick with a mischievous air about him, "What can I say? I forgot. We haven't had much time to **_ketchup_** in a while..."

Aster couldn't help but snicker when the very obvious Pun-master began to speak.

 

"Wow Sans.." She said in between chuckles..  "What would little Papy say if he saw this?"

 

Aster rather enjoyed San's puns,  but she knew he could be so messy.. Yet he was damned brilliant for someone so young. But a quick bit of magic had her cleaning up his mess easily, as the objects glowed with a purple magic. 

 

"Let's not spill things on the equipment alright Dr. Sans?" She said, a touch firmer, but to Alphys, this would be the first time Aster had showed her magic off to this degree, most monsters couldn't manipulate gravity like she could, but she had similar powers to Sans, and had spatial abilities as well, but Gaster had told her when she was younger that most monsters were scared of such abilities, so she didn't show them so much.

 

Recognition flashed in the empty space inside the skeleton's eye sockets. If it were possible, Sans' grin seemed to stretch wider, and he lightly shrugged as the contents of his work space were tidied up around him. Just as planned. He really was not one for doing any lick of work himself - especially a mess that he created. It was an effort to get him to stay awake in the monitor room. His voice was low in tone, but friendly in manner as always, the white glow of his eyes occasionally brightening in a playful way, " Shucks. What can I say? They really work you  **_down to the bone_ ** here. I'd **_knuckle_ ** down and work, but you **_must-ard_ ** understand that I can't really do two things at once. Gotta keep my sockets glued to the screens. "

 

"Now then." Aster said after putting the offending items away in a cabinet or in the trash.  "It's good to finally be working with you Dr. Sans."

 

Dr Merrick looked about ready to strangle the small skeleton to death with his own paws. Pinching his nose between forefinger and thumb, he let out a heaving and tried sigh. "I see you two have met before. This saves on the introductions then.  Aster, you can work in the monitor room with Sans for a while. I have to take Alphys here to the main lab and escort Kalos to the main generator. I shall...talk to you upon my return."

 

Aster continued to smile and nodded when Merrick had her working up here with Sans. The taller Skeleton took a seat next to the shorter pun master and stared forward at first.

 

With that, Merrick was gone, leaving the two skeletons alone in the monitor room.

 

Almost immediately, Sans' grin seemed to fade, the white lights within his eye sockets dimming a little. He glanced up at the monitors, as though afraid to meet Aster's gaze, and let out a low hum.

 

" He's talked about you, you know? " Sans did not need to explain whom. Gaster obviously had a hand in Aster's admission, " Arrived here in the lab this morning. S'why Merrick is all in a whirl. Came an' told me that you had been hired. Was...smiling. In that way he does, yanno? "

 

Without pulling his eyes away, Sans continued on that line of questioning,  **"** I know you don't like to talk about him - I don't either - but we can't deny that he's trying to get us all here where he can keep his eyes on us. Who knows? Maybe one day he'll come for Pap and --"

 

Whatever he had been about to say was clearly not something he wanted to finish off with.

 

Instead, he managed a sort of half smile, more of relief than anything,  "It's...really good to have you working here, Aster. I mean that. Maybe the old man will back off now that there's two of us?"

 

"That is a bit surprising, and also not very surprising. I don't know what he wants Sans and it bothers me very much. Paps seems to like puzzles, that boy solved two separate puzzle cubes, the first being a simple one for kids, but he solved that in such a short amount of time that I gave him a harder one, and it took him a couple of days to solve it, one meant for a more teenage level of thinking.. But when I showed him science problems and math, he seemed to struggle. So I doubt He will be able to get him so close." Aster responded, and a terrible thought crossed her mind, one that she only softly whispered to Sans.

 

"Unless he threatens to harm you.. He'd do anything for you." She murmured, and shuddered a bit. "I know neither of us will let him get hold of Paps. I really hope he does back off, the crap he put us through."

 

Skeletons, as a race, although mostly made of bone, were capable of showing emotion. When Sans' eye-sockets narrowed slightly, raising at the brows, he most certainly showed pity and sympathy - although whether it was for Aster, for himself, or for the pair of them was a mystery. Still, he smiled on in his usual manner, sighing softly, trying to put all of the pain and suffering behind him.

 

"Well, for now, he's obsessed with channeling my blue energy into somethin' more volatile. I think we can keep him away from Paps." One of the ketchup bottles was swiped from the (now tidy) desk and chugged down with greedy slurps and gulps. Sans was apparently a comfort eater.

 

He wiped away a red droplet with the back of his skeletal hand and seemed a lot more at ease with the world.  " Paps is hopeless at anythin' magic or science related. I'm sure G will stay away from him. We just gotta keep up our own charades and hope that what we do pleases the old man. Regardless of what it is he asks for..."

 

The white glow within his eyes faded to nothing. Sans' grin now seemed to be almost dark and frightening, " You know what we'll have to do to keep him away from Paps. We've both done it before." 

 

Aster nodded as she smiled and gazed at the monitor. 

 

"For now that is all we can do, and we will." She said firmly, and relaxed a bit.  "We should go to Grillby's new bar after work." She said softly to her friend..  "I think we could both use the relaxation."

 

The taller skeleton female idly focused on her work, and more kept an alert sense open for Gaster's magical wavelength. It rather helped when one was made from the very soul of the male she tried to avoid. 

 

Sans pressed at a few buttons, the tips of his phalanges touching lightly over the coloured dials. It seemed that the smaller skeleton took the same approach to work as he did to anything else in his life: slow and completely lacking in urgency or care. As the day wore on, he engaged in the occasional conversation with Aster; small talk here and there. His body posture spoke of someone who was relaxed with his position in the world: feet up on the monitor table, slouched low in his chair, barely moving except to occasionally swig from one of the condiment bottles. To the outside view, Sans was about as laid back as a skeleton monster could get. Of course, his eyes told a different story...

 

Sans' default expression was that of a wide and cheerful smile, so it was very difficult to see when he was upset or nervous about anything. Those eyes, however, told of his inner turmoil. Constantly darting from one monitor to the next, always ending up on the main lab's door - as though expecting someone or something - and occasionally shifting from soft white orbs to the occasional flash of blue when something startled him. Although his body was able to keep up the facade, his eyes were a dead giveaway.

 

Eventually, he allowed himself a long drawn out sigh, one that reassured him (for the moment) that all was well,  "Sorry you got shafted with staying in here. Merrick is a busy body. If he can make his job easier on himself, then he'll do it. Still, your company was appreciated."

 

The grin widened and his eye-sockets seemed alight with humour, "I'd have been downright **_bone-tired_** if I didn't have some company to rattle me awake."

 

Aster relaxed herself as the day wore on, putting a friendly hand on Sans' arm on occasion, more a nervous habit, to remind herself that she had a friend in the shorter skeleton. She tried busying herself with equations and problems, occasionally reading a calculus textbook she had found in the dump one day. When Sans spoke she looked up with a soft smile.  "It's quite alright Sans. After all, neither of us want to be  **_Bonely_ ** right?" She said, giving a light chuckle at the pun.. She didn't do it too often, but Sans always made her laugh at his.


	3. Break time at Grillby's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we explore the authors' flaming hot ship of Sans/Grillby, as Sans and Aster take a break to avoid having to get near Dr. Gaster.

A tirade of terrible puns seemed to be Aster's gift and curse for the day, courtesy of one short and fat skeleton. It seemed to be Sans' way of lightening their situation. Always had been.

 

"C'mon. We should totally clock off onto a break. We can  **_ketchup_ ** some more at that new --”

 

Just as Sans was starting to rise from his seat in his usual languid manner, he froze and the white glows of his eyes vanished, replaced with a cold terror that could only indicate one thing. It was not hard to follow his gaze, for there was only one monitor that contained any people - more specifically two people discussing something outside of the now open inner laboratory doors.

 

One of them was clearly visible as Dr Merrick's thin and lithe feline shape, his tail batting back and forth as he gestured at a file full to the brim with various notes, his clawed fingers pointing at seemingly random graphs and numbers. The other...

 

There was no mistaking that tall frame, the long sweeping white coat, a skeletal figure clad in a black turtleneck with black trousers. A figure that occasionally glanced down the slope where a normal monster's nose would have been, occasionally adjusting a pair of glasses that were tied around his skull, one dangerous purple eye occasionally sparing a glance at the camera as though he knew exactly what lay within the monitor room. Standing proudly with his back straight, towering over Merrick with an extra foot or two of height, arms behind his back, posture upright and rigid like a stone column, was W D Gaster: the monster himself.

 

Cold and disinterested eyes seemed to be glancing over the figures and facts with a hurried air, occasionally turning his head to the side as though dismissing Merrick's frantic motions, one long thin skeletal hand occasionally sweeping from behind his back in a wide arc, gesturing what was seemingly his own displeasure and opinion. The true horror came from his occasional glance at the camera, all but locking eyes with the two skeletons huddled within the monitor room, making Sans halt in his tracks for a few precious seconds.

 

Then, thankfully, Sans seemed to come to himself and offered Aster what he hoped was a sparing gaze. His hands were shaking too much for it to have been a reassuring one.  "Hey...woah...look...hey..."

 

Words slipped from his teeth, beads of sweat forming on his pale visage, teeth chattering with an unspoken nervousness. It took a while for him to realise that Dr Merrick's untimely interruption was giving him and Aster the time they needed to make their exit. With a choke, he found the sounds he was looking for,  "...We need to go. Now. That guy's obviously on his way here, and although he doesn't know it, Merrick just saved our asses. Let's do lunch. Now. We'll go to Grillby's. Hopefully someone else'll pull Gaster away whilst we're there, right?"

 

There was no humour in his voice this time. 

 

"That sounds good Sans.." Aster smiled and was starting to get up when she too noticed Gaster.. Her creator. A skeleton she had very little love for, despite how easily Gaster was able to pull at her strings. The way he knew how to manipulate her soul in a form of intimate passion only Skeletons seemed to be able to do. It was akin to stroking the most sensitive part of a person's body, saved for lovers primarily.

 

As Sans mentioned the need to leave then, she nodded.  "Yea, are you able to use shortcuts inside the lab?" She was fairly certain that Gaster had prevented such a magic before.  "Grillby's sounds absolutely wonderful. We can check on Papyrus afterward."

 

Two things to keep them away for a while, away from him.

 

"Sadly, the old man felt it necessary to put a field around the lab. Stops some of his experiments hoppin' out, yanno?" Sans did not even need to speak the 'like us' at the end of that one. One of his hands closed around Aster's, reassuringly, whilst he tried to stop his own frame from trembling,  "Look, we can walk out real easy. The monitor room is close to the entrance."

 

Aster followed the smaller skeleton, glad they were able to get out.  "I figure he would have.."

 

Silently, slowly, like shadows, the pair of skeletons slid through the quiet corridors of the laboratory. The long stretches of shadow that crept up the walls like thickset ivy seemed to go on forever. Occasionally Sans would glance at them, as though expecting something to slither out of them, but nothing ever did.

 

Only when they were out of the laboratory and already making some headway towards Snowdin, did Sans seem to relax, his posture slacking, eye-sockets closing in content and comfort. The fresh brisk cold air brought some relief to the two emotionally weary skeletons, a bounce appearing in Sans' step, him shoving his hands into his pockets and breathing out so that he could see wisps of his own breath in the frosty air.

 

"Snowdin's real nice, huh? I'm always glad to see it." A few shortcuts was all it took. Hotlands to Snowdin was a well-traveled path for Sans, and he walked it deftly and quickly in order to get both himself and Aster to their destination.

 

Aster laughed as they reached the snow-covered wonderland in record time.

 

"I was thinking of moving here myself. It's so quiet...calm...peaceful." She said softly as they walked to Grillby's bar.  "I can see why you’d like it."


	4. One Smoking Hot Bartender plus One Smitten Skeleton, equals ship.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Sans/Grillby adorableness!

Grillby's was a fine establishment. Sans professed that he already had visited it a few times since its opening, and had already gotten himself acquainted with the seemingly somewhat regular customers. Warmth greeted them as they pushed open the door, the bar already starting to fill with people for their lunchtime breaks. Behind the bar, cleaning glasses and occasionally taking an order, was the owner himself: Grillby. The monster was a tall, well-dressed fire elemental with wide shoulders, thick and broad arms, and a very neatly flaming visage. Perched on what was assumed to be his nose were rectangular rimmed glasses, his very well toned frame covered with a nicely fitting white shirt, black work trousers, very well polished shoes, a well kept black waistcoat, and an apron tied around his slim waist.

Sans informed Aster that Grillby had apparently been in the war with the humans, and was originally summoned and set to war by Asgore himself, but no one had confirmed or denied those rumors. Instead of dabbling in the gossip, Sans motioned towards the bar and perched on a seat, trying so very hard not to offer a dreamy and almost wistful smile towards the fire elemental. The cough he gave to clear his throat before speaking was noticeable, a faint blue tinge appearing on his cheekbones, "Heya, Grillbz! You're looking busy today! The place doing well?" 

Aster chuckled as she noticed that dreamy look to Sans' face. "Tibia-nest with you Sans.. I didn't think you'd be so smitten.." Aster said softly

A foot nudged Aster at her gentle teasing, the pale blue darkening on Sans' cheekbones as he hissed under his breath, "Dude! Shh! I am not smitten!"

Aster couldn't help but chuckle. Oh she was not gonna let Sans live this down for sure! "I'm just Ribbing you Sans." 

She was clearly enjoying how adorable he was when crushing.

Grillby noticed the two Skeletons and came closer. If the flame elemental was aware of Sans' crush, he made no notice of it, but set him down his usual bottle of ketchup, looking at Aster who smiled widely. 

"Burger please, extra mustard if you will, thank you." Said the female Skeleton. 

"It's good to see you again Sans." came Grillby's smoother voice, the fire elemental cared about his patrons, and if one pissed him off, one would get burned just as hard.

At the sound of the rich undertones of Grillby's voice, the smaller skeleton seemed rapt, immediately offering the fire elemental his full attention. When Grillby spoke, the sound seemed to crackle like a gently burning flame, making the elemental's tone seem almost ethereal and softly whispered. Still, the bartender was not one who wasted words. The less that could be said, the better. Whenever Grillby spoke, Sans paid attention, caught up in the smooth and silky tones of the flame monster.

Sans got to work nigh instantaneously on the bottle of ketchup, smiling knowingly at Aster.

He grinned up at Grillby, "Thanks, Grillbz. You're one flamingly good bartender to remember my unique brand of order!" 

Grillby nodded as Aster thanked him for the burger. 

"Any friend of Sans is welcome here." Said the flaming bartender. It said a lot about Sans for Grillby to say that, and honestly, Grillby did like the smaller Skeleton, He just didn't say anything more than that as he went off drying mugs and serving other customers. 

Aster ate her burger, a knowing smile on her face. 

Once the tall (handsome) bartender was out of earshot, Sans' face flushed a deep royal blue with embarrassment, him turning to look at Aster with a practically mortified expression on his face, "Aster! C'mon!! You are so not fair!! You can't rattle my bones like that!"

His eye-sockets pulled his skull into an almost pitiful whining expression, whilst his eyes darted back to the (incredibly sexy) fire elemental who was idly (oh my god how does he make the simplest act look so damn --) cleaning glasses. It was clear from Sans' dilated white dots within his sockets that his thoughts were running away with him whenever he so much as gazed in the flame monster's direction.

With an obvious pout, he turned to Aster and gave her a soft poke with the bottom of the ketchup bottle, "Okay okay. Maybe it's a little crushy. Can you blame me? The man is literally flaming hot. I'd like to get him to stoke my fire any day. I bet he's real steamy in the bedroom. One hot contender!"

Sans didn't mind, really. Aster's own jokes had made him almost forget about how terrible his job was. He now told his own puns to save face. 

Aster couldn't help but smile and chuckle at Sans' crush. It was also something to distract them from what awaited them back at the lab. She half hoped something got Gaster's attention and swept him away back to his true lab, far away from their sights. 

"You’re right there Sans. He just makes you want to melt huh?" She said, making a coy grin, that he just knew was her playing with him. "You are adorable Sans." 

Grillby either truly didn't hear them, or pretended not to care, as he continued to watch his bar and serve customers between cleaning glasses. 

A shrug from the smaller skeleton, "Hey, what can I say? I relish the company. Gives us time to ketchup without the threat of work. Mayo have many times ahead of you like this one!"

Another glance was aimed in Grillby's direction as Sans sipped gently on his ketchup bottle. A heavy sigh was drawn from him. After what seemed like forever, he turned to Aster, looking somewhat flushed, but very serious, "But seriously, though...he's so damn attractive. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm like a schoolgirl here: crushin' on her classmate like this is high school and I wanna ask him to the dance."

Aster put a gentle hand on the shorter skeleton. 

"It will be alright Sans." She said softly, looking at the bartender again, wanting to help him be happy (Angel above: they needed it). "Why don't you just ask him to hang out sometime? Worst he can do is say no and you've lost nothing."

Sighing dreamily, Sans motioned towards the seemingly oblivious bartender, "From day one he's been so polite, charming, handsome, and so damn attractive! I've been coming here for two weeks since this place opened, and it's like...well...every conversation with him is just...great. He doesn't say much, but when he does, it's the most sincere shit you've ever heard and --"

Hiding his face in his lab coat, the smaller skeleton headbutted the bar, "Aster!!!! I got it real bad!!! I got the hots real bad!”

Aster knew they needed to get back to the lab soon, or Merrick will be yelling at them for sure, but she didn't want to leave him on that note. She smiled warmly and pet him on the shoulder, "Just be careful you don't get Consumed Sans." 

At that, Sans seemed to stop his lovestruck tirade. It was almost as though he knew very well the implications of that. If Gaster were to ever find out about his lust/love for the fire elemental...

He shook his head and then slid off the bar stool, stretching in his usual lazy manner, "I know. I know. C'mon. The Doc'll be wondering where we are. I dunno...letting you drag me out here. On your first day too."

Aster knew Gaster would drag Sans' affection for the flaming bartender into this, so naturally she would keep her mouth shut on the matter. She certainly wasn't in any hurry to return to the lab, 

A cheeky wink accompanied his terrible joke as he turned around to smile widely at Grillby, "Put it on my tab, will ya? See you tomorrow, Grillbz!"


	5. Back to the Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a wonderful break to forget what awaited them back at the lab, Sans and Aster run into the very Skeleton they were trying to avoid..

It was a brisk walk back to Hotlands. Sans did not exactly want to rush back, so the 'shortcuts' were sporadic at best, and only used when the two were simply too tired to continue on. For the most part, the two skeletons walked and talked, jumping forwards at random intervals, until they were both back at the lab.

Sans was in the middle of one of his longer jokes when the lab doors slid open and he bumped into a very long set of legs in front of him. A very skeletal set of legs covered only by a pair of smartly pressed trousers. Ones that belonged to a very irate looking scientist who was glancing at a pocket-watch that hung from one lab-coat pocket on a silver chain. Legs that led up into a neat black turtleneck sweater that was partly covered by a long sweeping white coat and--

Aster’s worst fears were realized when Sans ran right into Gaster's legs, and he took hold of both their SOULS, holding them in place.

"Ah. Already dragging others into your bad break time habits are we, Sans?" That voice went straight to both skeletons' hearts, the scientist giving their SOULS a firm squeeze. W D Gaster clicked a watch shut neatly and pocketed it once more, glancing down his glasses at the pair. Aster was tall for her age, yes, but Gaster seemed to tower over anyone who was not King Asgore himself. "I had thought that I had taught you better."

That gaze was fixed upon the female skeleton, almost looking through Aster's very being, his one good eye socket narrowing, "A pleasure to finally see you working in your field. I have waited a long time to receive your application. How are you finding the labs?" 

"We...just took a walk and lost track of time is all. Clears the mind for work." Aster stammered, taking a moment to respond, a startled grunt leaving her throat.

She was strong yes, but Gaster was stronger and older still, being her creator.. "You know damn good and well how I find them Dr. Gaster." Refusing even now to acknowledge his siring her to give her life itself. "It was my idea for the walk anyway. " She said, trying with all her will not to let it show just how Gaster affected her: his presence, his voice, everything about the taller Skeleton still hit every magical fiber in her being as her very soul yearned to be united with the soul it had been grown from. She was never sure why this was the case either, but she was a created monster after all, perhaps it was merely because of that? 

Cold. The purple fire that burned and twisted inside of Gaster's one good eye was practically chilling; freezing both of the younger skeletons right down to the core. His other eye was closed as always, marked and damaged long before Sans' and Aster's creation, leaving him with a socket that was permanently shut off to the world. Occasionally the slight crack in it would glow with a dangerous and almost poisonous blue light, but it did not seem to actively play a part in anything but scanning magic, for when it glowed there was that sudden feeling of every part of a person being spread out and detailed for only Gaster to see. It was glowing currently.

"Well...it just so happens that I am finished with the prototype for my new energy weapon. Sans, your magic is required to test it. That is why I am here. However..." That sweeping and invasive blue glow flashed straight into Aster's soul, "...you should come and watch. It would be...educational."

It was clear what he meant.

His words hid the underlying meaning that his eyes could not: I own both of you. You are both mine to use as I see fit. No one can run from me forever.

The experiment to come would clearly be a display of his power.

Finally, he allowed both souls to slip from his grasp and turned to motion towards the door. One hand gestured impatiently, "Come now. We have much to do." 

Continuing to glare at the scientist, Aster remained silent until they were let down. 

"Very well then." Her tone made it quite clear that she would not stand for it if he hurt Sans - the monster only had 1HP for Angel’s sake! 

Gaster, and his overbearing presence, was something that Aster was continually reminded of every time she looked in the mirror. She looked so much like a female version of Gaster, and couldn't be farther from his mindset, that the resemblance really was striking.

Without saying a word, the female skeleton made sure that Sans was alright, just helping a colleague was all. Once assured that he was alright, she would followed Gaster, more resigned to the fact she couldn't hide from him forever, a sight that might hurt Sans to see. Her eyes were almost hopeless.


End file.
